[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21139]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PRAISING THE AFGHANISTAN ELECTIONS

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, although the war on terror is far from over, 
this past weekend's successful elections in Afghanistan were a clear 
sign that we are on the right track in winning the war. More than 12 
million people in Afghanistan stood strong in the face of the Taliban 
and voted in their parliamentary elections.
  But we should not be surprised. Earlier this year, Afghanistan's 
President Hamid Karzai came to Washington to ensure the American people 
that these elections would be a resounding success in the face of 
terrorists, and he was right.
  Even though Taliban terrorists killed five candidates and four 
election workers leading up to the election and on Sunday murdered 
another 15 people, election turnout was still impressive. Despite the 
danger, the Afghani people's thirst for democracy was great. The vote 
was also a major milestone for Afghan women who have long been 
oppressed. There were 580 female candidates, or 10 percent of the 
total.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that the Afghanistan nation is strengthening 
and unifying the body of its parliament, allowing the Afghanistan 
citizens to operate as a collective action.

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